Menzel made her Broadway debut as one of the original cast members in Rent, receiving a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Maureen. She also earned a Drama Desk nomination for her performance as Kate in MTC?s The Wild Party. She originated the role of Dorothy in Summer of ?42 at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, starred as Sheila in the Encores! Production of Hair and appeared on Broadway as Amneris in Aida. Other Off-Broadway credits include Rent and The Vagina Monologues. In film, she has appeared in Summer of Sam, Just a Kiss, Kissing Jessica Stein, Tollbooth, and Water. She also made an appearance in the movie Camp in which Stephen Sondheim also made an cameo. She performed at the 1998 Lilith Fair summer concert festival, had her debut album Still I Can?t Be Still released on Hollywood Records and continues to write and perform original music.

Menzel holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from NYU?s Tisch School of the Arts. She is married to fellow performer Taye Diggs and appeared on Broadway in Wicked, for which she received her first Tony Award (Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical) for her portrayal of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Menzel is currently busy working on the film version of Rent, with original cast members Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, which began filming in February of 2005.

--Wikipedia